We're So Dead
by Mischief's Angel
Summary: Things change at the Museum when Nicky starts his job as the second Night Guard. Even more changes occur when he basically adopts Ahk as his big brother. Basically, it's a lot of Ahk and Nicky getting into trouble and having adventures in New York! Post SOTT and Slightly AU. Eventual Ahk x OC and Nicky x OC with slight Larry x Rebecca
1. Playing Big Brother

**Okay, so I finally gave in and wrote a Night at the Museum fanfiction. The fandom REALLY needs some more stories, because these movies are brilliant. I'm not entirely sure where it'll go, but I have a few ideas. Anyway, standard disclaimer: I own NOTHING from the movie franchise! The only things I do own are the story and the OCs that might come in later. Please read and review!**

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><p>Nicky ran down the hallway in a panic, trying to live long enough to reach the Egyptian wing of the museum, where he last saw his father, Larry. At this point in time, Nicky had finally given in to his dad's wishes and gone to college. However, that meant helping to pay for college, which meant getting a job, which ended up with Nicky as the museum's much needed second night guard. He worked with his dad as his boss now; therefore, he didn't generally like the job as much as he originally thought. Hence running down the hall, fearing for his life.<p>

"DAD?!" he shouted when he saw the gate to the Egyptian Exhibit.

No answer.

"Oh, great!" he groaned, pausing and looking around to come up with a plan.

When the sound of the escaped, and now stampeding, animals reached him he started to run again. What truly caught him off guard was the arm that reached out, grabbed him, and pulled him into the hall that contained Ahkmenrah's tomb. When Nick registered what happened, he looked to see the young pharoah slamming the metal grate of the entryway shut.

"Oh, thank God!" Nicky groaned, completely out of breath.

The animals ran past the gate and on to torment another area of the building, aside from the lions. The large cats paced on the other side of the grate and growled lowly. Ahkmenrah shouted toward them in what Nicky guessed was an ancient Egyptian language. After being shouted and scolded at, the cats put their heads down and grumbled back down the hallway they came from.

"Thanks, Ahk." Nicky said, regaining his breath and sliding down the pillar he hadn't realized he was leaning on, until he sat in a stressed out heap on the ground.

"What was that about?" Ahk asked with genuine concern for the boy, while he took a seat on the ground next to him.

"That was what happens when I'm trusted to do important stuff…" he grumbled bitterly, "Lock up the Hall of Mammals, my dad said! It'll be easy, he said!"

"Bad day already?" the other boy asked, with an attempt at a humorous chuckle, "And we all only just woke up."

"That explains the...that," Nicky chuckled dryly, gesturing at the wrapping that still remained around the pharaoh.

"Oh, congratulations on breaking the record," Ahk grinned.

"What record?"

"Your girlish shriek was quite literally loud enough to wake the dead!" he explained, bursting into a fit of laughter at the irritation on Nicky's face.

For this joke, he received a smack on the shoulder.

"Ugh, I hate you sometimes!" he laughed at Ahk, as the young king held his shoulder in mock pain.

"What fun would it be if you didn't?" he shrugged, standing to his feet and then pulling NIcky up onto his.

"He is proud of you. I don't know why he doesn't say it, but he is." Ahk said, trying to be encouraging.

"Who?"

"Your father. Since you began working here, he's been much happier."

"Well," Nicky sighed, "Not for much longer. I suck at this job! There are stampedes running everywhere, and nothing gets past him! And for some reason, it was easier when all I did was be a kid and help make a bigger mess. I never knew how hard this job was, and now I'm gonna lose it!"

"Not just yet," Ahk smiled, with a clear plan formulating in his head, "Go back to the African hall and wait there."

He ran and carefully removed the famous gold tablet from the wall.

"I have an idea!"

Nick didn't question it. Instead he ran back the way he came and hoped that, by some miracle, they would get there before Larry investigated.

When he arrived, the hall was completely empty, with no animals in sight. He gripped his hair nervously, making various unintelligible noises.

"Come on, Ahk!" he sighed quietly, as though it would help in any way.

Just when he started to panic, Ahkmenrah hurried down the hallway, now in his usual royal wardrobe.

"Okay, so what's your big plan?" Nicky asked quickly.

Ahk calmly spoke to the tablet before the gold slab began to glow.

"This is my plan," he gestured down the hallway, as a faint noise turned into the herd of animals that Nicky had accidentally released, "Move away from the door in about three seconds."

"Okay." Nick sighed, "3...2...1...NOW!"

The two backed out of the way as the animals rushed into the room, and each grabbed a side of the gate to effectively slam shut. Thankfully, Nicky had already locked the other door of the hall.

"Now, just lock it up," Ahk insisted, "And hurry!"

"That's kinda the problem!" Nick remembered, "I don't really have my keys on me."

As if on cue, the familiar happy noises of a capuchin monkey echoed in the hallway. Dexter sat happily on a bench behind the two boys, who were still holding the gate closed. Ahk rolled his eyes and let out a low, irritated breath that could have barely passed for a sigh.

"Again? Really?"

"Yup."

"Nick, hold the gate," the king instructed, regaining his patience, before turning to the monkey, "Dex, come here. Now."

Dexter let out a fussy whine of a sound, before resolutely sitting on the back of the bench.

"I'm not doing this today. Now." he ordered calmly.

Dexter gave in, slumped his shoulders, and walked over to Ahkmenrah, who then picked him up off of the floor.

"We talked about this," he scolded the monkey gently.

Dexter looked down sadly.

"But...I understand," Ahk sighed, knowing how much the capuchin hated being locked up. He could never blame him for that.

"No more taking NIck's keys and behave yourself, and you don't have to be put in there at night. Sound fair?" he negotiated.

Dexter smiled and chirped happily before hugging the pharaoh's neck. He then hopped over to Nick's shoulder to drop the keys into a waiting hand.

"Is it 'cus I'm a night guard now?" Nick asked, _finally_ locking the dumb gate, "You didn't pick on me so much before."

Dexter shrugged and smiled again with a fake innocence.

"Just...go pick on my dad or something!" Nicky grumbled as Dexter scurried off.

Just as Dexter rounded a corner, Larry came around from the other side.

"NIcky?" he called over.

Ahk immediately hid the tablet behind his back, under his cape, and the boys hoped Larry wouldn't have seen it.

"I was fixing an issue downstairs when I heard a bunch of noises from up here. Sounded like trouble, so I came to check it out," Larry said skeptically, before looking around.

He was suspicious of them, as the two boys quickly put on matching nervous smiles.

"But...it looks like you've got everything under control here." Larry relaxed as he saw all of the African Mammals contently lounging in their own exhibit, which was secured, "Good job, Nicky."

"Heh, thanks." came the nervous reply.

"Anything go wrong tonig-"

"NO!" Nicky exclaimed, way too fast to avoid more suspicion.

Larry gave him an odd look.

"Nothing at all," Ahk agreed calmly, defusing the moment.

"Okay, I'll be downstairs if you need me." Larry mentioned before walking off.

When Nicky was sure he was out of earshot, he threw his head back and let out a loud "Ugggggh!" of frustration.

"I think it went alright."

"I can't do this!" Nicky complained dramatically.

No response.

"What? No encouraging "Don't worry, Nicky! You can do this!"?!"

"You have visited this museum at night for eight years, yet on the first day of actually working here, you are almost eaten by lions," Ahk pointed out, "I'm not sure a hearty "You can do this" is appropriate, because that is highly debatable."

"Oh, shut up!" Nicky complained, as the two started laughing.

"Well, it sounds as though there's a party starting downstairs and I don't plan to miss Attila crowd surfing again."

Ahk started down the hall.

"Hey, Ahk," Nicky stopped him, "Thanks for...everything."

"Of course."

"I've never had one, but...you make a pretty good big brother," Nicky admitted.

The pharaoh had, after all, been helping to look after Nicky for eight years. He was the closest that Nicky had a brother, and Ahkmenrah had never really been close to his brother, so neither minded the new one.

Ahk just smiled back at him and then continued downstairs to check on the rest of the museum "family".


	2. What's It Like

"So, I know this is probably a weird question…" Nicky noted, walking along next to Ahkmenrah, as he usually did after finishing up his night guarding duties, "But, why didn't you wanna stay in London?"

Ahk thought about this for a minute. He had lived on display at the British Museum for about a year, but he never felt as though it was the right place for him. Sure, he did really like it there. The museum was bigger and he was able to be with his parents, but, in all honesty, it got lonely and he missed his other family. After all, he was still considered a travelling exhibit, so he would likely travel between the two places every once in a while. It was also nice that Lancelot and Trixie were allowed to travel with him some of the time. The dinosaur didn't visit New York as much, but can you blame the museums? Being her size, she's not easy to pack up and move.

"I liked it there," Ahk mused, "But...it got lonely at times."

"But there's tons of stuff there."

"True," admitted Ahk, "But...I wanted to come home."

"What about your family?" Nick wondered.

"Blood doesn't define family...or at least not to me. A lot of family is here," he explained, "And I do love my parents. I am thankful I will get to see them when I travel."

"You don't miss living with them?"

"While I love them, my father's persistent nagging nearly bored me _back_ to death!" Ahk laughed.

Nicky joined in the laugh, fully understanding what that felt like! As they talked, they heard a low, familiar booming sound. As it grew louder, the two moved off to the side. A small car drove past them at an alarming speed, followed closely by Rexy. As the car skidded around a corner, they could hear a loud "YEE-HAW!".

"There are just some things the British Museum doesn't have." Ahk noted happily.

"Trixie doesn't like fetch?" Nicky asked.

"No." Ahk answered, "She usually just chases Tilly around for about an hour every few days. It's entertaining, but not as much fun."

"So, how's Lancelot fitting in here? I haven't seen him around here yet."

"He's...trying."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

As if on cue, a loud metal clanging could be heard coming from near the elevator. The sound was followed up by loud indistinct shouting from the knight in question.

"Ah...sorry I asked…" Nicky cringed, "Should we go handle that?"

"We _should_," Ahk admitted, "But I'm sure Larry can handle it...and it's movie night in the projection room."

"True."

When he had begun working there, which was now a little over a month ago, Nicky had designated certain days with different activities for the museum "family":

Monday night, there was usually a selection of whatever board games or card games Nick and Larry could find. Granted, it took a lot of effort to teach Huns how to play board games.

Tuesday was usually the day when Nicky would leave everyone to either watch TV or go off and behave somewhere else. Ahkmenrah and Sacagawea usually got to the remote first and were usually resigned to whatever Ahk chose to watch. This choice was generally some type of drama that Nicky and Larry were glad they didn't have to watch with them.

Wednesday quickly became the week's second "game night", but rather than board games, Wednesday was set aside for whatever sport was chosen for the week. Soccer was the favorite choice, much to Larry's horror. It usually meant that he was going to referee and, more often than not, meet the ball with his face.

Thursday was movie night. Even though it felt nearly impossible to select a movie on the days where every exhibit wanted to watch something different, they always figured it out and it was quickly becoming Nicky's favorite day to work. The entire projection room was usually only used for documentaries or presentations at the museum, but it made a good movie theater at night, and they needed to work with what they could.

Friday was not usually a crowd favorite, because Larry had made the decision that the exhibits all get cleaned up on Friday, to prepare for the weekend visitors. The following day was the busiest of the week. While most of them didn't like "cleaning day", many didn't mind. Sacagawea always liked the chance to clean up her own display and brush and braid her hair. Teddy Roosevelt spent the time brushing out Texas and helping Larry oversee the others, while maintaining his usual optimistic attitude. Meanwhile, the Huns spent the time sharpening weapons and grumbling at Larry for making Friday boring. Ahkmenrah was another story entirely. The Egyptian exhibits seemed to _always_ be obsessively clean, so there was nothing to change on Friday. The slightly perfectionist pharaoh in question simply sat in a corner of the tomb and read whatever book Nicky had loaned to him that week. Sometimes after polishing his armor, Lancelot would visit Ahk, but after about a dozen questions about the book, he was usually escorted out by twenty-foot jackals.

Saturday was everyone's favorite day (aside from Nick and Larry). Since the museum had limited hours on Sunday, it didn't open as early. Saturday was, every week without fail, party day! There was always a massive party that Nicky would DJ, often with Ahk's help, and Larry would stress out about endlessly. This was the two guards' least favorite day, because Sunday morning was when they got to clean it all up.

Sunday night was the only night that didn't have anything specifically planned. Each person or animal at the museum would go about doing their own thing under Larry's watch. Nicky would usually help with the stuff early in the night and spend the next few hours studying. If he had any work for his history studies, he always had a volunteer to talk him through it. Although, he suspected that Octavius's view of the Roman Empire might be a little embellished.

But for tonight, he didn't have to worry about college. All Nicky had to worry about was what movie to pick. By the time he and Ahk had gotten downstairs, almost everyone had gathered in the projection room already. Nicky jumped up in front of the screen to get everyone's attention.

"Okay," he said loud and clear, "What do you guys wanna watch?"

After being bombarded by a hundred different answers all at once, Nicky decided this really wasn't going to work. Every week he tries this approach, and every week he ends up deciding himself.

"Looks like you guys are gonna have to agree on one!" He shouted over the noise, earning a sudden guilty silence.

"If I have to pick the movie, I don't wanna hear complaining then!" he continued after a moment.

"I trust your decision," Ahk shrugged from the front row of seats.

"Why did I trust your decision?!" he whispered angrily to Nicky about an hour later.

Nicky shrugged and tried to restrain laughter. Since he had gotten Ahk's approval anyway, he went ahead and selected the first film from the Mummy Trilogy for their movie. Ahk spent most of the movies shooting angry sideways glared at a highly entertained NIcky.

By the time the movie ended, most of the exhibits were either highly entertained or scared out of their wits. Even though the movie wasn't "scary" persay, it was still one of the most realistic things that those who hadn't watch a lot of movies had seen. Ahk, although he didn't want to admit it, thought it was pretty cool. He would definitely be using this as an opportunity to prank a few other exhibits...and possibly scare the living daylights out of them.

Nicky decided he would follow Ahk out and get his reaction.

"So," he called out, catching up to the pharaoh, "Since you're already mad at me-"

"What questions did you have?" Ahk groaned, good-naturedly.

"What's it like?"

"Which part?"

"Well...any of it. Like, coming back from the dead has to be weird, right?"

"Not really," Ahk pondered, "It's just like waking up normally, but...in a sarcophagus. That part's _really_ uncomfortable."

"What about the part where you get all ripped apart and put into jars and stuff?"

"Mummification?"

"Yeah...that part."

"How would I know?!" Ahkmenrah laughed, his voice going up about an octave, "I was dead!"

He teasingly smacked the back of Nicky's head in jokingly feigned offense.

"Come to think of it," he continued in a calm and thoughtful way, "I'm not sure I was. After all, the spell from the tablet meant I would just come back anyway, I couldn't be alive without a full body, and they only found me in one piece when I was buried."

At this point Nicky was fascinated and disturbed.

"But those mirror things in the movie, like," Nicky asked further, "tombs don't really have those, right?"

"Well, mine did," Ahk shrugged.

"If you were dead, how'd you know?"

"Don't be ridiculous! I saw the tomb before I was dead!" Ahk exclaimed.

"You saw it before you were even dead?"

"Of course! It was a present from my parents for my fifteenth birthday." the king smiled proudly.

Nicky stopped walking, froze for a second, and then shrugged and kept going.

"I got an XBOX for my fifteenth birthday," Nicky noted quietly.

"It's a family custom," Ahk explained happily, "My parents worked hard on it…or rather made someone else work hard on it for them. It's the thought that counts though."

"Sheesh."

"What are you two up to?" Larry asked, jogging up to join the two boys.

"Dad."

"Yeah?"

"If you get me a grave plot for my birthday, I'm moving in with Mom and Don." Nicky stated matter-of-factly.

Larry gave the two a really confused look, Nicky had a truly disturbed look, and, after a moment of silence, Ahk just broke into laughter.


	3. Coffee Break

**Hey, everyone! Thank you so much for the positive feed back. I apologize for my delay updating this story. I couldn't find time to finish this chapter until today. Anyway, I hope you enjoy! Please Read and Review!**

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><p>"It's here! It's here!" Nicky shouted, running full force down the hall towards where Larry, Teddy, and Ahk were standing.<p>

"What? What happened?!" Larry immediately panicked.

"No, nothing! But it's here!" Nicky shouted enthusiastically and far too loud considering he was now standing right in front of them.

"What's here?" the other three finally asked in unison.

"Starbucks!" exclaimed Nicky, looking as though he would burst with excitement, "There's a Starbucks about a block away from the museum now!"

"You scared us all for a Starbucks? Nicky, there are coffee shops everywhere!" Larry groaned.

"Yeah, but, Dad! This one is a five minute walk from here!"

Larry just facepalmed and stood there for a minute.

"Do you make such a habit of running and shouting, boy?" Teddy laughed, clapping a hand on the boys shoulder.

"Forget it, Nicky," Larry cut in, "You have a real job now, and you can't neglect it to go spend all your money on coffee."

"What if I made coffee runs for both of us?" Nicky pleaded cleverly.

Larry paused for a moment.

"No more than fifteen minutes then!" he finally agreed, loving the idea of a hot coffee.

"Great! I'll go right now!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Larry stopped him, "You're not leaving on chore day! You can go tomorrow."

"I thought we talked about not calling it "Chore Day"..." Ahk cut in.

Larry ignored his commentary.

"Look, everyone's doing their own thing anyway!" Nicky protested, gesturing around at the busily occupied exhibits, "No one will miss me for like ten minutes!"

"Not on Fridays. We need everyone to help out."

"Ahk doesn't do anything on chore day!" Nicky whined, "He could help out while I'm gone!"

"Well then!" Ahk scoffed with no small amount of sass.

Commotion from the Neanderthal display further frustrated an already stressed Larry.

"Fine!"

"YES!" Nicky shouted, sprinting towards the door before his dad could change his mind.

He then remembered something, skidded to a halt, and turned back.

"Did you want a scone too?" he asked.

"Just go!" Larry re-emphasized.

In seconds, Nicky was gone. Ahk looked as if he was going to speak, but then just proceeded quietly back into his dark, hallway-like tomb. Larry and Teddy went on about business with the Neanderthals.

Ahk walked around behind the stand that held his sarcophagus and slid to the ground to sit there, leaning his back against the cursed coffin-stand he hated so much. For a good amount of time, he just sat there. He would read, but Nicky had once again forgotten to bring him a book for the week. Regardless of the reading material, he wouldn't have wanted to read anything tonight anyway.

"AHHHH!" he exclaimed in boredom.

The sound echoed off of the walls, which seemed closer and more constraining than ever before. As was usual when Ahk shut himself away, only the Jackal guards noticed his disturbance. Ahk could hear the stone grinding as they turned their heads in his direction. He would like to read it as a concern for their king, but there was no true expression to read in the first place.

"Oh, don't look at me like that!" he grumbled to them, "I'm just bored out of my mind!"

No movement or response came from the statues.

"If I am to be locked up for one more day, I will surely lose my sanity!" he complained, "I have done everything I can think to do here. I know every inch of this building my heart, and I want nothing more than to be rid of it sometimes!"

He pulled out the last book that Nicky had loaned him and look at it with irritation and disdain. He had read it three times this week alone. He groaned and tossed the book aside onto the floor.

"The world isn't in there!" he noted sadly, "I suppose it doesn't matter to me where the world it. I'll nev-...never see it again."

There was a dead silence, before Ahk decided it was probably pointless to talk the guards. When he had these talks, he had only ever been talking to himself. The young king drew his knees up to his chest and rested his forehead on them, after bitterly throwing his crown to join Nicky's book in the corner.

He would just wait until Larry announced that it was almost sunrise. Then maybe, when death decided to claim him again, he could find some small amount of peace.

"Surely this feeling will pass by tomorrow," he thought to himself, "...won't it…?"

By the next night, the entire museum had erupted into a party. It wasn't even a full half an hour after sunset, and music and lights filled the excited, electrified air. All of the exhibits happily went about their usual party behavior. Well...almost all of them. Nicky noticed that Ahkmenrah was missing about two hours into the party. Normally, Ahk would have been more than happy to join Nicky for the party, either playing with the DJ and sound equipment or running around and dancing like idiots.

"Hey, Jed! Octavius!" Nicky called over to the two miniatures that were busy getting into some kind of trouble at the front desk.

"Yes, my liege?" Octavius answered promptly.

"Have you guys seen Ahk anywhere?"

"No sir, Gigantor Jr., but he'll turn up!" Jed answered, "Been eight years and he ain't never missed a party yet!"

"Yeah, you're probably right," Nicky sighed shrugging off his concern.

Just as he was about to go back to the party, he noticed Lancelot and Sacagawea coming from the direction of the tomb, bickering like only someone in a conversation with Lancelot could.

"Lance!" Nicky ran over to them. "What's going on!"

"Why me?" Lancelot defended, "I started nothing! Those accursed dog-men started it!"

"What does that even mean?"

"He is upset because the Anubis Jackals refused us entrance," Sacagawea explained calmly.

"What do you mean?"

"She means those monsters won't let us into the Egypt display!" Lancelot exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air, "Honestly! All we did was show some concern!"

"Sac, more info please," Nicky insisted.

"Ahkmenrah hates that sarcophagus more than death," she began, "and it's usually left open at night, after he leaves it."

"And?"

"He never left. It's still closed. When we tried to see him, the guards refused to let us pass."

"That's...bad!" Nicky panicked, processing this new issue, "Do you think it's locked?"

"Whenever it used to be locked, he let us know," the Shoshone woman explained, "The screaming used to scare many of us here. There is nothing like that today."

Nicky didn't even bother to reply. He just took off up the stairs.

When he reached the hall and started to go inside, two massive spears crossed to block his path.

"Woah! Hey, guys…"

Silence.

"Look, I just need to get in," he argued, "If something's up, it's my job."

He pointed at the museum patch on his shoulder with a desperate "See?!".

After a minute, the guard parted long enough for Nicky to pass through and then re-blocked the entrance.

"AHK!" Nicky shouted.

There was no sound or movement, aside from the echo of Nicky's voice.

He cautiously walked up to the closed sarcophagus and tentatively knocked on it, as though it were the door into a house he wasn't welcome in.

After waiting a minute, he finally opened the lid and, much to his relief, Ahk was alright. He was just really asleep.

"Ahk!" Nicky prodded, shaking his shoulder. The pharaoh startled awake and shot up so quickly that one would think his heart had just been restarted.

"What? What happened?" Ahk insisted, as though something had to be horribly wrong.

He quickly checked Nicky over to make sure that he was alright. He then checked the tablet; everything was good there too.

"No," Nicky reassured, "nothing happened. You just overslept and scared us. You must have been so tired that coming to life didn't even wake you up."

Nicky chuckled nervously, hoping to lower the tension that was evident in Ahk's confused expression.

"Is it possible that you were still tired from yesterday or something?"

"I don't know," Ahk replied quietly, "This has never happened before. I have fallen asleep, yes; But i've never woken up asleep."

Nicky just thought for a minute, feeling a little helpless in finding an explanation.

"Maybe it was just a long day," Ahk joked nervously, in an attempt to change the conversation, "Being dead can be simply exhausting."

Nicky chuckled and any worry faded out of his face.

"Let's go downstairs and join the party," he insisted happily.

"Maybe...not today…" Ahk shook his head slightly.

"_You_ are passing up the chance for a _party?!" _ Nicky asked, "Something _has_ to be wrong here."

"I'm just...tired and bored." Ahk admitted.

An idea suddenly struck Nicky.

"Do you like coffee?" he asked.

"Oh, yes!" Ahk answered happily, "My family was one of the only families in Egypt that could afford to have it imported. It was very strong and bitter though."

"Well, I'm gonna go on a coffee break at Starbucks. I could get you som-" Nicky stopped, "You know what?"

"What?"

"Why don't you just come with-"

"YES!"

To say that Ahkmenrah's face lit up would be an understatement. His excitement was almost unnerving to Nicky, who had only ever seen him acting calm, regal, and reserved...or at a party.

"Yeah, I got some extra clothes in my locker in the security office. You'll need to change."

"Alright." Ahk happily agreed.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Nicky said, basically only to encourage himself that this wasn't a horrible decision...which, it probably was.


	4. It Went Wrong

"Here, try these." Nick said, handing Ahk a duffel bag with extra clothes.

"Why?" Ahk asked innocently.

Nicky looked him up and down for a second with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you really just ask why you have to change clothing before I take you outside in New York? In winter!" Nicky asked, knowing the answer.

Ahk thought for a second before shrugging and taking the bag.

The two had asked Jedediah and Octavius to cover for their absence for about a half an hour, knowing full well that Larry would have an aneurysm if he discovered that Nicky had taken someone (especially the owner and operator of the life-giving magic tablet) outside of the museum. The miniatures were to tell Larry that Nicky was out, while the Jackals still prevented entrance to Ahkmenrah's tomb, which people would assume was due to the pharaoh's wish to be alone. The two troublesome boys were now hiding out by the loading dock, hoping to sneak out that way, while Larry had his hands full managing the wild party on the main floor.

When Ahk finally returned, having swapped his ancient clothing for a spare change of Nicky's clothes, Nicky loudly snorted, as though he were trying to swallow his laughter. The main reason was that it was flat out weird for him to see the over three-thousand-year-old pharaoh dressed like an American Teenager. The other part of his laughter was due to the fact that the clothes that were too big on Nicky's thin frame actually fit the other boy quite well.

"Does it look that bad?" Ahk asked looking down at the floor awkwardly, suddenly feeling awkward and self conscious about the idea.

"No," Nicky answered, laughter dying down into a plain smile, "It's just weird, because you look so...normal."

"Is that good?"

"Yeah," Nicky thought out loud, "I wonder why we didn't think of this before."

"Because before," Ahk smiled, "You were about half of my size, instead of roughly the same. That would have been odd."

"Yeah...point taken."

"Also...you didn't have keys before," Ahk added mischieviously.

Because he only had one coat available, Nicky tossed the grey coat to Ahk and wrapped his uniform jacket tighter around himself. Ahk put the coat on quickly over the black t-shirt. There was something about spending about sixty years in a museum only to sneak out in a t-shirt and jeans that made him laugh as well. This was, in his opinion, definitely the most exciting thing that he had done since that first week of Larry letting him out of his sarcophagus.

"Let's do this!" Nicky said confidently, sneaking the two out of the side door.

As soon as they left the building, the door fell closed behind them, and the bitter winter wind began biting at their faces. Ahk, having grown up in an Egyptian climate, hissed at the unpleasant sensation, quietly mumbling ancient curses under his breath. He wrapped the gray coat tighter around himself, suddenly feeling that touring New York for a few blocks was a bad idea.

"Oh, come on!" Nicky teased, "It's a little bit of wind. I mean, big deal!"

Ahk continued his grumbling for a block or two, but quickly forgot his grievances about the cold. He was too engaged in conversation with Nicky to think about it any further. He did enjoy glancing up occasionally. While the skyline in New York was a busy one, he could still look above it and see stars. It was sights like that which made a magical museum life seem restricting. Part of him never wanted to go back, but he knew he would always have to go back. He never voiced any of these thoughts, but instead focused back in on whatever it was Nicky was trying to explain.

"Okay," Nicky instructed when the coffee shop was in sight, "We go in. We get three coffees. We leave. Sound good?"

"And after that?"

"We hurry back to the museum before my dad finds out we left or we're _both _gonna be history!" Nick urged, "And, no offence, but I don't wanna have to come back from the dead!"

Ahk just laughed. There was basically nothing Larry could do to punish the pharaoh for running out like this. He just worried for Nicky's sake and agreed to the plan.

"What kind do you want?" Nicky asked while the two waited in line inside.

"There's more than one kind?" Ahk wondered sincerely.

"Ya know what, I'll just pick for you."

Three coffee orders later, the two turned back toward the door, caffeinated drinks in hand.

"We're so gonna pull this off!" Nick thought to himself, noting the time on his watch.

Right as they were about to go, the door of the shop opened. In walked two girls that looked to be about Nicky's age. One of which the young night guard recognized as a fellow student at NYU.

"Nick?" the familiar brunette asked with a bright smile.

"Oh, hey…" Nicky replied awkwardly, really trying to avoid people he knew and also remember this cute girl's name.

"It's me," she went on, "Sam. We have Intro Biology together."

"Oh, yeah!" he said with what he probably thought came of as confidence, but ended up looking so awkward that he internally cringed, "Totally. I know you!"

"We were pulling an all night study deal, and thought we could use some coffee," Sam mentioned, gesturing to her and her friend, sounding just as awkward as Nicky.

"We were….uh….just…" Nicky desperately tried to come up with what they were doing there.

Ahk, who until this point had stood gaping slightly and staring at the girl hiding behind Sam, decided to speak up and help Nicky out.

"We were working a late shift at the Museum of Natural History and a coffee run sounded like a good idea," he stated, sounding more natural than Nicky but still slightly awkward at first.

"We could use a bit of a break, so we're gonna hang here for a few," Sam said, still awkwardly and directed at mostly Nicky, "Wanna join us?"

Nicky froze up for a minute. One part of him knew that there was a chance he was already a dead man walking for sneaking a four-thousand year old mummy out of the museum, so he really should get back. Yet, the other part of him, the part with the poor judgement that got him there in the first place, always won.

"Sure," he smiled, staring dreamily at the girl, "A few minutes couldn't hurt."

Ahk would have normally become the voice of reason, but his attentioned at diverted back to shyly staring at the other girl. So, Nicky ended up being pulled to a table nearby by his arm, while Ahk and Sam's friend followed.

"So, you guys work at the museum, huh?" Sam interrogated excitedly, without giving the boys a second to breathe after they sat down, "That must be so cool! What's it like? What do you guys do? Sorry, am I asking too many questions?"

At this point, Nicky's brain had officially decided to check out. He wasn't sure where to even begin this conversation without sounding crazy. Before Nicky could stutter out an answer, Ahk snapped out of his own thoughts and spoke.

"Yes, we do." he began answering calmly, "Nicky is one of the chief security officers there. He's been working nights recently."

"Wow," Nicky thought to himself, "That sounds completely realistic and impressive."

"What do you do?" Sam asked, turning to Ahk.

"Me?" he replied casually, "I'm a transfer student. I travel here frequently to work in the Egyptology department."

"You have an accent. Where's that from? Sounds British," Sam rambled out.

"Yes," he answered with a smile, "My parents were are originally from Egypt, but they, uh, moved to England a long time ago. I was born in Egypt, but I've spent a good part of my life in England. I suppose I picked up the accent when I learned English there."

"I like your accent," the other girl finally spoke up, sounding very soft and shy, "I think it suits you."

"T-thank you," Ahk stuttered out sweetly, before mentally directing himself back into the conversation.

"So, English is like your second language? How many languages do you even speak?" Sam questioned more.

"English is my second language. I also speak Arabic, French, Mongolian, and Latin. So...quite a few."

"Latin? People don't speak Latin anymore!" Sam laughed, before being politely stopped and corrected in flawless Latin.

"Apparently someone does," her friend chimed happily, with her gaze still locked on the table in front of her.

Meanwhile, throughout this conversation, Nicky was tensed up with stress, fearing that at any moment this conversation could go very wrong, but it never had yet.

"So, like, you travel to work here, but where do you go to school?" Sam asked, to the point where her questions beginning to seriously grate on the patience of her friend, "I know Nicky goes to NYU...with me."

"Oh, I study at Cambridge University," Ahk answered, greatly relieved that he could confidently say that, "And when I'm not working here in New York, I work in Egyptology at the British Museum."

"Wow, you must be like super smart and good at your job and stuff!" Sam noted, before turning her attention back to talk to a very nervous Nicky.

Her friend only glanded up at Ahk, before noticing him looking back and quickly dropping her eyes back to the table.

"Hello," he said softly, bending down closer to the table to try and catch her sight again.

"Hi." she squeaked back.

"So, you guys know each other because of the museum! Are you guys close? I mean, you work together a lot," Sam interjected.

"We are," Ahk shrugged, "In fact, because my parents live so far away, Nicky's dad looks after me while I'm in New York."

"Yeah," Nicky agreed, jumping on board with this fairly accurate statement, "We're like family."

"Oh, my gosh!" Sam burst out, clearly showing the effects of late night caffeine, "I totally didn't even ask your name! Rude, Sam!"

"I actually share a name with the current exhibit I travel with," Ahk laughed, "You could say parents were ancient history fanatics."

"You're named for a travelling exhibit…?" Sam tried to register.

"He means Ahkmenrah," her friend added, "The only Egyptian exhibit in the Natural History Museum is the stuff from the Ahkmenrah expedition."

"Exactly," Ahk agreed, impressed by her immediate recollection of that.

"That's a weird name to have...no offense," Sam remarked innocently.

"I like it," other girl smiled.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Sam here," Ahk laughed, "It's an odd name. I usually just go by Ahk."

"What's it mean anyway?" Sam inquired.

"Living spirit of Ra." Ahk and the other girl answered in unison, before pausing in an awkward silence, either weirded out or impressed.

"I-it was said that the Pharaoh Ahkmenrah was a descendant of the Egyptian sun god, Ra." she continued.

"That's very impressive," Ahk added.

"Do you think it was true?" she wondered.

"Honestly," Ahk thought out loud, "No. I don't believe that."

"Yeah, if the guy were part god, wouldn't he still be, ya know, _alive _or something?" Sam laughed.

Nicky let out an overly loud and very nervous fake laugh. This signalled to Ahk that it was probably time to go.

"We should really head out you know," Nicky laughed, still falsely, "We got a lot of work, you guys probably have important stuff, and it's late. This was fun though, we should do this more often."

He quickly grabbed Ahk's arm and pulled him out the door. The girls followed right after.

"Wait!" Ahk remembered, calling to the other girl, "I didn't get your name!"

"Cleo!" she shouted back, since Nicky was pulling him farther away.

"As in-?"

"Yeah!" she laughed, "I guess my folks were history nuts too!"

With that she waved and, as Nicky and Ahk hurried away, the girls faded into the distance.

"Well…" Nicky sighed, "It went wrong!"

"I don't think so," Ahk replied as they walked along the quiet, cold street, "I think it went really well."

"How so?"

"She was perfect." Ahk stated dreamily, staring off to nowhere.

"Yeah, to bad for you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean too bad she's _alive_!"

Ahk just laughed and kept walking.

"For now…" he said over his shoulder, jokingly but with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh my God, you're morbid!"


	5. Back to Nothing

**Hey, everyone! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated this story in a long time. I meant for this update to be published a long time ago, but then my schedule went to Hades in a handbasket. I do hope to get these next few updates out soon. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with my story! Please Read and Review!**

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><p>The boys ran through the side door of the loading bay, gasping for breath. While they had been running, Nicky received a text from Larry asking how Ahk was doing and why he wasn't at the party. The two panicked and ran for the museum as fast as their legs could carry them, which for Nicky meant almost getting hit by a taxi, and for Ahk meant jumping the hood of a taxi that Nicky then didn't see. The pharaoh had unknowling shot ahead of the guard before getting stuck at the door with no key. Nicky had, after a minute, trudged up completely out breath and opened the door.<p>

Now they were officially safe...as long as Jed and Octavius had done their job covering for them.

"You…" Nicky gasped, bent over in clearly out of shape exasperation, "You left me...in the street….running with a full cup of coffee?!"

"I panicked!" Ahk answered with quiet guilt.

"I could have _died!_"

Ahk's guilty expression faded, and he was then trying to suppress a smile.

"This is funny to you, isn't it?" Nick sighed, standing back up straight and checking on Larry's slightly-spilled coffee.

"A little bit…" Ahk admitted in a whisper, having now completely recovered from the run.

"Ha! Joke's on you!" Nicky realised, thinking himself clever, "If I'd have died, you'd have been locked out! Then you'd have been totally screwed!"

"Oh, yes," Ahk started, sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Because I completely don't know how to use a key! After all, if you're dead, you wouldn't need them."

"Are we now talking about taking the keys from me when I'm dead?!"

"You brought it up…"

"Ahk," Nicky stated flatly, "Never steal stuff from a corpse."

Ahk just shrugged and nodded agreeably, because that logic was pretty sound to him, even though Nicky had mostly meant it as a joke.

"Now, go change back! If dad sees you dressed like this, he'll flip! Or worse, he'll ask questions!"

Ahk scrambled off to change, while Nicky double checked and locked down the loading dock. He then went back to his locker in the security office. Ahk met up with him there a few minutes later, now back to his normal Egyptian clothing and bag with Nicky's spare clothes was still in his hand, but he playfully jerked it away when Nicky reached for it.

"Ahk!"

"What was that you said about stealing from a corpse?" Ahk joked, acting as though he were trying to remember.

"Ha. Ha. Very funny." Nick added dryly, "Now give it back."

"Hmmm….no."

"What? It's not like you'll need it again!" Nicky argued.

"What do you mean?"

"Well," Nicky said, clearly without thinking, "You're not leaving the museum again!"

Ahk's playful smile shattered with realization, and he sadly handed the bag to Nick. Nicky then stuffed in in his locker and turned back around. However, when he turned back, the mummy was already gone.

"Ahk?" Nicky asked to the empty room.

Ahkmenrah retreated silently to his tomb. Previously, he had elected to call the Egyptian display an "exhibit", rather than an actual tomb. However, on nights like this one, "tomb" felt entirely accurate. Part of him had known that leaving the museum would cause more trouble than good. He had assumed that the trouble would result from being caught by Larry. He hadn't expected the outing to be a problem because it went well. Now, he was torn between the excitement of having left the building...and the pain in realizing that the freedom to do so was only one more thing that he could no longer have. Well...if he played by the rules he couldn't.

Nicky might have said that Ahkmenrah wouldn't be leaving the museum again, but Nicky also showed him exactly where the spare clothes were kept and which key opened the back door by the loading bay. If Ahk were ever to get caught using it, Nicky would be questioned. If the prized mummy went missing, Nicky wouldn't dare report it. After all, he would always come back long before sunrise. Taking walks every once in a while couldn't possibly cause that much harm...right? For now, he would stay put and work more on his plan.

"Next week," he thought to himself, hoping it would provide some courage, "Next week for certain."

The young pharaoh carefully placed his crown back into its display before getting ready for the sunrise. Any minute now Larry would come around and check to see that everyone is back in their usual exhibits and dioramas. By the time he came around, Ahkmenrah and his guards would already be back in place. It frightened the boy terribly to let the sarcophagus lid close, but, night after night, it was inevitable. The darkness always reminded him of waking up every night, trapped and scared out of his mind. Centuries of screaming and begging for an escape tends to make someone a bit claustrophobic. He tried to calm down, but nothing seemed to work. That was, until he began to think back through the events of the night. His thoughts lingered on the coffee shop, the time he got to spend with Nicky, and the amazing taste of coffee. If he were completely honest, most of his thoughts led to thinking about Cleo. He couldn't answer to why he kept thinking about her, but he did. This calmed his anxiety almost immediately, so he finally let the lid to the wooden sarcophagus slowly fall shut. He focused in on her, her smile, her voice, and even how shy she'd been. He became lost in his thoughts, when the sun came up, and there was now simply nothing.


	6. Bad Habits

**So, this story is getting good feedback and a great following! To my loyal readers, you are amazing and I love you all! I won't point out anyone in particular, because I don't know if you guys would be weirded out by that or not. But, regardless, you're awesome! Anyway, please keep up the Reading and Reviews!**

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><p>Nicky went through his third lap around his area of the museum. He had already checked everything numerous times, but he couldn't shake the feeling that, tonight in particular, something was just off. He paused in front of the Egyptian hallway, glancing down the dark corridor. He quickly whipped out his flashlight and aimed it at different areas of the tomb exhibit. Upon checking, he found that the Jackals were staring back at him, but stood silently in their place, the case with Ahkmerah's crown was empty, and the sarcophagus was open and empty. All of this was usual, aside from that fact the the mummy in question was not taking refuge in his exhibit, nor was he in any of his other usual spots. Nicky shrugged it off. Maybe he was just with Larry for a bit. He just continued on his way,<p>

Later in his rounds, he came across Larry and Teddy, chatting away about something of importance.

"Hey, Dad, Teddy!" Nicky said with relief, walking up to the two.

"Oh, hey, Nicky!" Larry said casually, only half focusing due to some distraction.

"Nicholas!" Teddy greeted cheerfully, smacking his hand onto the boy's shoulder.

"Uhhh...have you guys seen Ahk tonight?" Nicky asked them, trying to hide some slight worry, "It's probably fine and all, but...I can't find him."

"No. We thought he'd be with you." Larry answered quickly, "Listen, we've got other problems. I've been looking for Dexter all night. He didn't even try to steal my keys this time, before he ran off."

"Well, he didn't take my ke-" Nicky started before checking his belt to find an ironic lack of keys. "Oh, God…"

"Never fear, Nick! We'll find him before he causes too much mayhem!" Teddy encouraged.

"Dex hasn't stolen keys in a while," Larry noted, "Why would he start that again now? It's not like he's gonna try and leave the museum or anything."

Nicky paled and lost the ability to move. It had been almost four hours since anyone had seen the Museum's resident mummy. The mummy who also just so happened to be one of the select few that Dexter listened to. He instantly thought back to their outing the week before.

"No...he...he wouldn't…" Nicky mumbled to himself.

"Wouldn't what?" a fourth voice chimed in.

Nicky looked to see Sir Lancelot walking up to the group eagerly. He often travelled with the Ahkmenrah exhibit, for no particular reason other than the fact that he really wanted to travel, and Tilly, the night guard at the British Museum, really needed a break from him every once in a while. They all had to admit, sometimes having Lancelot around came in handy. Like right then, for instance.

"HEY!" Nicky said, far too loud and overly excited, "Just who I wanted to see!"

In truth, Nicky had only needed to see Lancelot right that second, as he formulated a pitiful plan that he needed help with.

"Who?" Lancelot answered, looking around for a second, before coming to the conclusion that Nicky must have been talking about him.

"You!" Nicky went on, "I need your help with something somewhere else!"

"When?"

"Right now!" Nicky answered, grabbing Lancelot's elbow and pulling him the opposite direction from Larry, who just shrugged at the two.

When they got upstairs, Nicky abruptly stopped and spun around to look at the knight.

"Lance, you and Ahk are close, right?"

"Um...I suppose so….maybe…" Lancelot's answer came, laced with uncertainty.

"Well...I need to tell you something, but you CANNOT, under any circumstances, tell anyone else!" Nicky said, becoming more and more jumpy and concerned.

"I can't tell anyone else?" Lance pondered, "Why can't I tell anyone else?"

"Because it's a secret!" Nicky whispered, leaning in closer to keep the information away from anyone nearby.

"But...what if they ask?" the knight asked, mirroring Nicky's secretive body language.

"Secret, Lance! Secret!" Nicky whispered harshly.

"Alright. You have my word," Lance said, too loud at first, but suddenly growing quieter, "But...what is it?"

"Alright," Nicky explained, "Last week, when I went out to get coffee...I may have taken Ahkmenrah with me, as in out of the museum! I know that no one is supposed to leave the museum, but we did. We got back in time, and we weren't caught, but it was still a bad _**bad **_idea!"

"If you got away with it...why tell me?"

"Because," Nicky panicked, with excessive emphasis, "Ahk now knows how to get in and out of the museum, and he is _**surprisingly**_ good at blending into the city! Now, my keys are missing, and our mummy is missing!"

"Is that where I come in?" Lance asked, a bit blankly.

"We need to split up and find him! There are a _lot_ of places that he can get to in four hours!"

"This happened four hours ago?!" The knight stood up straighter and gave Nicky a what-were-you-thinking gesture.

"I know! I know! I'm really bad at my job, okay!" Nicky admitted, "But whatever happens, we _**do not**_ tell Larry!"

"Wouldn't Larry be better at finding-"

"We. Don't. Tell. Larry!"

The two ran quickly down to the lowest level of the museum, past the security office, toward the back entrance. When they passed by the open door of the security office, Nicky backtracked and skidded to a halt.

"AHK?!" he yelped, as Lancelot clumsily ran into him, effectively causeing them both to tumble ungracefully to the floor.

Nicky had the misfortune of landing under the heavily armored wax knight.

Lancelot clamored back up onto his feet, armor clanging all throughout the attempt. He then lifted Nicky back up by the back of his jacket, with a cheerful "Ha! That's better!". The knight then followed Nicky's eyeline into the security office.

In the office, there was a poor example of a couch, with an end pushed up against the security lockers. Ahkmenrah sat quietly on the couch, watching the struggles of his two frantic friends. He sat sideways on the couch with his knees folded up into his chest, leaning his back against the cold metal side of the row of lockers, so that he was faced directly toward the office door. His wore his usual Egyptian clothing, with the excess material carefully tucked in around him. He just stared at Lancelot and Nicky as though...well, as though they had just tumbled loudly onto the floor; which, they had.

"Ah! There you are, Pharaoh!" Lance greeted happily.

"Ahk!" Nicky stressed, "Don't disappear like that! For a minute I thought-"

He was cut off by the pharaoh tossing a set of keys to him; his keys.

"Wha-...?" Nicky started.

"You thought I was going to leave?" Ahk asked, sounding more than a little saddened by the idea.

"Well...yeah."

"You were right to assume that," Ahk admitted, "I was. Please...don't blame Dexter for helping me. He was only doing as I asked. I...I suppose I thought that I wanted to spend a few last hours in freedom."

"Why would you-..." Nicky cut himself off, "Wait! "Last hours"?! What do you mean last hours?!"

"You weren't planning on returning to the museum…" Lancelot sighed, picking up on the young pharaoh's meaning.

Nicky just stood there, baffled and speechless.

"I decided against it," Ahk said, more calmly, as he stood and walked past them, "Breaking the rules of the only place one will ever see is a bad habit to get in to."


	7. We're A Family

"Lance," Nicky sighed, "Go tell Larry and Teddy that I found Ahk, would you?"

"As you wish, my liege," Lancelot nodded, before marching off towards the main lobby.

Nicky hurried after Ahk, arriving at his tomb only to find the metal security gate shut.

"AHK!" Nicky called through the gate, "Open the door!"

Ahkmenrah sat slumped over on his sarcophagus, chin resting in his hand.

"Ahk," Nicky sighed, "Let me in. You're really starting to freak me out!"

"Why?"

"Because….well...because you're my brother and I care about you! Now, open the door!" Nicky pleaded.

"Nick…" Ahk sighed, with no particular emotion behind it, "I couldn't unlock the gate, even if I wanted to."

"Why not?" Nicky asked, desperately shaking the gate.

"Well," Ahk almost chuckled plainly, "Because it isn't locked. You have the keys."

"Right…" Nicky scolded to himself before opening the door with ease.

He walked over to Ahk, while strongly resisting the urge to run over and smack him for scaring people like that.

"Can we talk?" Nicky leaned on an elbow, propped on the sarcophagus next to where Ahk was sitting.

"I would have come back." Ahk muttered, voice breaking.

"I know, okay?" Nicky said, "I know that it sucks to be stuck here. I get it. It gets empty and lonely after a while. You know that better than anyone! It kinda feels like you'll never get out of here, and, even when you do, it sucks to have to come back. You finally get your own life, but it's not at all what you thought it would be!"

"How...how do you know that?" Ahk asked quietly.

"Because I'm still a teenage guy!" Nicky admitted, trying to smile to make the situation better, "I know a little bit about what trapped feels like! Now...I'm not going to pretend that I get what it's like to be stuck in your situation as long as you were! But at least I kinda get it! For the longest time, all I wanted to do was travel and get the heck out of New York! Everytime I think I'm going to leave, something keeps me here."

"Why do you think that is…?" the pharaoh wondered.

"Because, like it or not, I belong here! It feels cramped sometimes. Heck, this place is enough to drive anyone crazy! But I belong here: with the museum, with my dad, and with you guys. My family is all right here."

Ahkmenrah didn't say anything for a while. In the silence, Nicky had a good though.

"Hey, Ahk?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Why'd you come back from the British museum for a while?"

"I...I don't know." Ahk realized, "It just wasn't the same there. It is nice to see my parents again, and even other Egyptians, but it wasn't the same."

"Your family is there," Nicky reminded.

"Yes...but my other family was here." Ahk smiled at the thought, looking up a bit. "I missed my family here."

"Then...why did you want to leave?"

"I do not have a great reason for that…"

"But you have a not-so-great reason?" Nicky prodded a bit.

"It was foolish and childish," Ahk chuckled dryly, "I think I was just homesick…"

"You miss Egypt?"

Ahk nodded, sniffling a bit.

"I know that we have a weird, crazy thing going on here in New York," Nicky laughed, gesturing around at the museum walls, "But, this place came be home to...if you let it."

"I'm sorry, Nick."

"Don't be," he sighed, "Like I said: I get it. Just...don't ever leave without telling me."

"Don't worry," Ahk said, voice steadying as he hopped down from his seat, "I won't be following through with a bad idea like that again."

"Good, because...you may not always want to be here, but you're basically always needed here!" Nicky explained, "See, I kinda suck at this job, okay?! And most of us here...we're a real mess. Through all of the crap we go through, you, Larry, and Teddy have kept this place standing up! Even when we haven't always been great at looking after you, you've always looked after us. You're family, and...we like that you're here!"

The other boy said nothing for what felt like the longest time. Just as Nicky was about to speak again, he was interrupted by Ahk pulling him into a slightly awkward, yet welcome, hug.

"Thank you, Nicky." Ahk pulled away and smiled a bit more.

"Besides, I was a jerk for telling you that you weren't going to be leaving anymore. That...that was a real crappy thing to say," Nick admitted, "And, even if it might get us killed, we should both really get out more."

"Really?!" Ahk lit up hopefully.

"Yeah. Just as long as we're back in time! Deal?"

"Deal!"

Neither of the boys talked anymore about that night. After all, they would have bigger issues to worry about soon.

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><p>"Interns?" Larry, Nicky, and Rebecca asked in unison, standing around Dr. McPhee's desk in the director's office.<p>

"Well, yeah," McPhee assured happily, "It's a good program. The interns get valuable life experience and such! And...the museum just also happens to get generous grants because of them! Win, win!"

"But...isn't that a little risky, knowing the museum's reputation of odd things?" Larry asked, showing genuine concern about the museum's biggest secret.

"Wha-?" the director scoffed, "It's not like I'm hiring new night guards! They won't even be working nights. They'll never need to know."

"So, where will they be working then?" Rebecca asked, far more calm about the issue than the Daley boys were.

"Well…" McPhee chimed out, gesturing oddly with his hands, "Our travelling mummy exhibit needs more work than it gets. We've got double the conservation, and more of the collection will be coming in this year. That's more work!"

"Why not hire a curator for the Egyptian department? The museum has the money for one." Rebecca questioned further.

"One one hand, we could hire someone new," he rambled a bit, "OR, on the other hand, we could utilize the fact that there is a well-qualified Egyptology student that is practically begging to work for little to no money at all!"

The odd little man weighed the imaginary odds in each hand, with the internship option clearly being the victor.

"What about the second intern?"

"No...I don't really have a good reason for that one," McPhee thought aloud, "But twice the interns means twice the grant money. Also...they were the only two that applied for the job."

"That's...okay," Rebecca sighed, maintaining her positive outlook, "This will be good! We'll have some extra help during the day!"

"Fine," Larry accepted, "But when the museum closes, the college interns leave."

"As far as I'm concerned," McPhee yielded, "When the doors are closed, you're the big man in charge."

"When are they starting anyway?" Nicky asked.

"Oh, in about...an hour." McPhee checked his watch to confirm his guess, "You three play nice with my new interns.

With that, the meeting was over.

True to McPhee's guess, the interns arrived at the front desk slightly over an hour later. Rebecca and the Daley boys had decided to wait there and meet them. As soon as they arrived, the two college students announced their presence when one of them let out an excited squeal.

"HI, NICKY!" she called over happily.

Nicky looked over to see Sam waving her hand frantically at him, with a large smile plastered across her face. Next to her, quiet as ever, stood Cleo.

"Hey," Nicky greeted awkwardly, "What are you guys doing here…?"

"We're the new student interns!" Sam replied ecstatically, much to Nicky's horror.

"Wow…" Nick thought, or more accurately groaned, to himself, "Now she gets to see you being clumsy and awkward in your natural habitat, Nicky. Because failing miserably at a coffee shop in front of a cute girl just wasn't enough."

"Hi," Rebecca cut in with a big smile, shaking the two girls hands, one after the other, "I'm Rebecca Hutman. I'm the docent here. This is Larry Daley, our head of security. And...it looks like you already know Nick."

"It's nice to meet you!" Sam beamed.

Cleo simply smiled politely.

"Well," Rebecca went on, "Welcome to our little family!"


End file.
